Potty Training a 19 Month Girl

I have two girls as well. Although our eldest showed an interest in the potty at 17 mos, her sister was due any minute so we held off potty training her until she was almost 2 1/2. By that time she had lost interest and we had to reintroduce the concept, use rewards, etc. She was pretty good after a week or so, but it took about 3 months until we could count on her to take herself everytime she needed to go. Our youngest insisted on using the potty from about 20 months. She wanted to be a big girl like her sister and, even though I didn't want go through potty training again so soon, she was adamant and kept saying "no diaper!" She got her way, "trained" herself and has only had one accident since. She's now 5 and we've never had any potty issues with her (of course, her big sister is another story...). If your daughter really wants to do it, there's no harm in letting her take the lead. You might be pleasantly surprised!

If she's interested, go for it. Put some big girl panties on her one morning and tell her that she's a big girl now and should pee and poop in the toilet all the time. she will probably have at least one accident, but if she's that interested when she sees the consequence of peeing in her panties, she'll probably go straight to the toilet. It's one thing to push a child who's not ready, but it's another to ignore the signs of a child who is ready. You will probably find that she does a lot of things earlier than her older sibling because she's copying her sister and she wants to be a big girl just like her sister. Don't hold her back waiting for the time you did things with her sister; she is her own person and will be ready for things at her own pace.

My son is 16 months and I practiced infant potty training with him.

He is potty trained but does not talk yet. I just know when he has to go when we are out and he goes on his own at home because I let him run with just a shirt on at home. He does not wear a diaper (even at night) and very seldom has an accident (when he does it's usually my fault).

I would encourage your daughter to use the toilet. It is far better than teaching them to potty in their clothing. A few accidents is only going to remind her she really wants to use the toilet as most children do not like being wet.

There are just a few open windows of opportunity to do this (potty train) with each child and you were in tune enough to recognise her interest at one of the early ones. Take full advantage and be patient with her you will be glad you did within the year.

I started my boy on the toilet when he was 4 months old. We were able to take the diaper off when he was 13 months and now he knows well what he is doing at only 16 months. That is very early for a boy, girls are often times much faster at this than boys. You are blessed, enjoy!

I say let her take her time my daughter started potty training around 14mos and by time she was 20 months I started really focusing on putting her on there like every two hours and putting panties on her and she will be two in November and she is doing really good with a few accidents every now and then but she's doing great and loves wearing the panties although I haven't started night time potty training.

Go for it! My son started the same age. For both my boys we had a "potty party" with balloons and everything. We just stayed home for the day on a Saturday. A few days before we talked about the "party." It's all about them and their success on the potty that day. We went straight to underwear at night and never went back, not even pull-ups. We did have rule for awhile that they go to the bathroom before we leave the house, and always before bed. No drinks close to bedtime either. Have fun!

My daughter potty-trained herself at 19 months. She needed minimal guidance, but we did take her into the bathroom every two hours when she was at home. We made the usual visits to every public bathroom, where she was curious to try out other potties. You should not anticipate that it will take her a long time to gain control over her bodily functions. If she is this interested in being potty-trained, she will probably not have many accidents. My daughter's motivation was that she wanted to be a "big girl" and not wear diapers. Best wishes with potty-training your daughter.

Take off the diapers, she is obviously ready.And you are at home with her, why not! My 22 month old son was out of diapers at 16 months and we used the same book method. Just put her on the potty on obvious times, in the morning, after nap, or if she has not been in awhile. Also, make sure to use the potty before any outing. We even brought a potty in the trunk and have oftenused it on the side of the road if he had to go! (in his little potty of course) It is not stressful for them, it is a great thing to be diaper free, imagine the comfort! Good Luck!

I have 4 daughters and they all had their own time schedules with this. If she is interested work with her. There is nothing wrong with what we consider early training.

You don't realize how very lucky you are that you have a child that is self training. Go ahead and let her decided when she needs to go. Any child that can walk has the muscular ability to be potty trained. Therefore the next step is when. With many children in child care, this has been pushed back to older toddlers. I can well remember my mother in law being unhappy with me because I wouldnt' train my children at eight months old. If it were me and I had a child a year and a half, I might suggest she try to go from time to time...and just let it happen. When we had day care here, we routinely started around this time, and usually had it accomplished by the age of two. To have your child already telling you is a great thing. Good luck

There is the 3-day potty training method you can look up online. I used this for my daughter and it worked beautifully. The author has had success with children as young as 15 months. The crucial part is that they are able to communicate the need to go and your daughter can. I learned about this method from another mom on this site and have been eternally grateful and always delighted to recommend it to others.

If your daughter is leading, then she is ready for potty training. Since it seems that you know how long she can go between trips to the potty, ask her every hour or so if she would like to go. If she says no, then don't force her, but try to get her in there by promising to read her a book while she "tries". If she is resistant to you leading her, then let her keep leading. This is a great start! You may need to add some kind of incentive to keep her interest and make sure to make a big deal and give her tons of praise every time she uses the potty...don't take it for granted and she will be out of diapers soon!

Go for it!! She is ready, and that's fine. Most parents around the world can't afford diapers and their children train by one year. I'd follow her lead and suggest the potty if she doesn't every 2 hours.

For more info on "early" potty training do an Internet search on Elimination Communication.

Cheers, and lucky you!!
J.

Go for it! If she's anything like my girl, she'll be trained by 20 months! My daughter (now just turned 3) was interested at 19 months and trained by 20 months (and has never regressed). Follow her lead, make it fun, have a potty or public toilet nearby everywhere you go, and voila! Awesome! Good on ya!
K. in EC

Hi there,
My 18 month old daughter has been doing the same thing since she was about 14 months. Since they are so young, like you, I am letting her tell me when she wants to use the potty. At this age I personally do not think there is a need to put pressure on them. I want my daughter to be comfortable with the whole process.
We are making progress here, but every child is different so others out there may have different advice based on their experience.
Good luck!
A

I would let her decide when to go. At this age she may stop going if you show that you want her to. If you feel she should go more often then make more trips to the bathroom yourself since you said she usually goes when you do. Drink tea regularly to remind both of you to go often.

Let her call the shots. At this age she is still young for potty training, however if she is interested take advantage of it. However, remember two things. One is that you can best tell if a child is physically ready to be truely potty trained then they will be able to go through a nap and still have a dry diaper. Don't be depressed if she can't do this yet, it doesn't mean that you can't still work on it, just remember that she won't be able to be completely trained until she has the physical ability to hold that pee. The other thing you should keep in mind is that the majority of children no matter when they are started on potty training will not be completely potty trained until they are three. Thats not to say that others aren't potty trained earlier but don't get frustrated if it takes a long time. Just keep letting her call the shots for now and as she gets more physically ready try encouraging her.

I agree. Get her big girl undies and get on with it. My daughter was fully potty trained(day time)by 18 months old and night time fully a little after she turned 2. If she is already telling you when she needs to go; then she is ready. I would just encourage her to go more often. Just set the timer for at least every 25 minutes and go from there.
I did remain with pull ups(along with a change of clothes in the car)for a little while going on errands and things. More of my worry then hers! I just made sure we went potty before we left the house and then found the bathroom when we got to our destination(for the emergency potty moment).
Good luck!

That's great that she is interested so young! I'm currently potty training my son who is 16 months old, and we've been working on it since 14 months. Once in a while he'll tell me if he needs to go, but mostly it's me taking him to the potty if it's been a while and I think he needs to go. Sometimes we only catch 2 in a day, but a couple times we've gone a whole day without a wet diaper. (He's not pooping on the potty at all yet). He did start to lose interest at one point, so then I started giving him a couple of raisins, his favorite treat, for a reward. That worked great for a while, then he started losing interest again so we moved from the little potty seat to standing on a stool and going in the big potty like daddy, so now he thinks it's cool again. If he's not in the mood to use the potty I don't make him. I talked to his pediatrician about it and she said starting early was great, and that he'd probably be fully trained by age 2 with the age we started.

Basically just keep it fun and don't put any pressure on her, but I don't think it would hurt to remind her and take her to the bathroom when you think she needs to go. I do think it takes longer to train them when you start this young, but I think it's way better than starting too late. My sister-in-law waited too long to start with my nephew and he wasn't fully trained til he was almost 4...yikes! The older they are the more set in their ways they become. So, keep up the good work!

I'm far from a potty training expert, but I'd say if your little girl wants to start now, why not? Yes, it may take you a year, but that's okay. Yes, she'll go through phases where she'll look like she's less interested, but that's okay too. It's a nonlinear process. Good luck!